Triumphant Return
by Rebecca Cage
Summary: Elizabeth Weir gets a mysterious letter delivered on the Daedalus. The origin of this letter is the mystery that sends Weir, Sheppard, McKay, Ronon, Teyla and Zelenka on a search on Earth of a foreign country. How will they be affected by what they find?
1. The Letter

Triumphant Return

Chapter 1: The Letter

It was a quiet, uneventful day at Stargate Command inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex in Colorado. On the elevator down from the surface where he had collected the minimal amount of mail that arrived to the base on a weekly basis rather than daily, Sergeant Walter Harriman was sifting through the envelopes to decide which ones needed to be taken to General Landry's office and which weren't important. As he was doing this, one particular envelope caught his attention because of the writing on the front. Instead of a specific recipient the envelope read: Important: To be delivered on the Daedalus to Atlantis as soon as possible.

"Now this is strange. Either we have a serious breach of security or something is definitely not right here." Harriman thought to himself as he got off of the elevator at Level 28 and headed immediately for the General's office.

General Hank Landry was seated at his desk going through the latest batch of mission reports when a soft knock on his door drew his attention. When he saw Harriman standing there, he raised his head and beckoned the other man inside.

"What can I do for you, Chief?" Landry asked as Harriman closed the door and regarded him worriedly.

"Sir, I think we may have a security leak. Either that or something else is very off. Look at this envelope that came in this week's mail drop. It doesn't make sense to me."

"What the hell? Who in the world would even know about Atlantis much less want to send a letter there?" Landry asked.

"Exactly what I thought. So what are we going to do?"

"Well, I'm going to have this analyzed to make sure there is no explosive material inside or outside of the envelope and then I'm going to let Colonel Caldwell deliver the letter to Atlantis with instructions to Dr. Weir to update us in her status report next week letting us know exactly what this is about."

"I'll take this down to the lab, sir."

"Thank you, Chief. Tell them to report to me as soon as they're finished with their analyses."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Two hours later, Dr. Bill Lee, the head scientist of the SGC, walked into General Landry's office with a preliminary report of the analysis his team had done on the envelope.

"So tell me what you've found, Doctor." Landry ordered.

"Well, sir, we subjected this envelope and its contents, whatever they are, to every kind of scientific test that I know of and there are no signs of explosives or anything else remotely dangerous. As far as I can tell this letter or whatever is perfectly safe to send to Atlantis." Lee reported with an air of confidence that didn't open a chance to second guess.

"Thank you, Dr. Lee. You're dismissed. I'll take it from here." As soon as he was alone in his office, General Landry turned the envelope over in his hands for a moment before heading down to the control room.

"Chief, open me a channel to Colonel Caldwell."

"Yes, sir. Connection established."

"What can I do for you, General?" Caldwell's rough voice came through the speakers to Harriman's right.

"We're ready for you to beam up the latest batch of supplies for the Atlantis expedition. There's a letter that's on top of the boxes and I want you to take possession of it and when you get to Atlantis, take it personally to Dr. Weir and make sure she gets the instructions that I sent with it."

"Yes, sir. I'll see to it as soon as we touch down in Atlantis, General. Caldwell out." Caldwell cut the transmission and turned to his second-in-command.

"Head us toward Atlantis. Best possible speed. I'll be in the cargo bay for a moment."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

As the Daedalus made its hyperspace journey to Atlantis, elsewhere in a small house in a Scottish town, someone was hoping that the letter got to its intended recipient. From the man looking out the window at the hills outside, a familiar voice was heard. 

"I really hope that my letter gets to Atlantis. I don't doubt that when they read it, it will lead them here and when they do, they are going to be in for a might big surprise. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see who sent that letter. Aye, it will be a shock."


	2. A Mystery Begins

Chapter 2: A Mystery Begins

Ten days after they had left the Milky Way, the Daedalus touched down on the East Pier of the great city of Atlantis. As the crew assisted with the unloading of the supplies in the cargo bay, Caldwell excused himself and headed through the massive city to Dr. Weir's office. He had made a promise to General Landry that he would deliver this letter personally.

* * *

Elizabeth Weir was sitting in her office drinking a mug of coffee when she heard a soft knock on the wall. She looked up to see the Daedalus commander leaning in the doorway, staring seriously at her.

"Colonel Caldwell, welcome back to Atlantis. Is there something that I can do for you?" Weir asked casually.

"Actually there is." Caldwell began, pulling the envelope from the jacket of his uniform.

"This arrived at Stargate Command ten days ago and was beamed up to the Daedalus with the rest of your supplies. I was asked to bring it to you personally."

Weir took the envelope that Caldwell handed her, puzzled by the writing on the front. She carefully opened it and unfolded the letter inside. Her curiosity soared as she read the contents of that letter. 

Dear Dr. Weir:

I know you will be intrigued, perhaps even curious, when you receive this. When you discover the reason behind it, I can guarantee that you will be very surprised.  
I have a simple request of you. Return to Earth and travel to this address. Do not travel alone. Bring the members of your front line team with you. I know you are  
wondering my identity and the nature of the purpose behind my correspondence with you. When you arrive at the address I have provided, I will be there to meet you  
and I will explain everything then.

Sincerely,  
B.M.D.

After reading the letter, Weir's pulse was racing at the mystery that had just been delivered into her hands. She was determined, as she folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope for safe keeping, to figure out who this mystery contact was, how they knew about her expedition in Atlantis, and more importantly why they had contacted her.

"Dr. Weir, there's more. General Landry asked me to request that you include something about the contents of this letter in your next weekly status report. He was reluctant to send it here with us in the first place from what I hear."

"Colonel, I think I can give him one better than that. Can you excuse me please? I need to make some preparations." Weir asked.

"Of course. I'll head back and help my men in unloading your supplies. Let me know if you require any further assistance." Caldwell said, heading out of the office as Weir nodded her agreement.

As soon as Caldwell was gone, Elizabeth activated her headset. If this mystery person wanted her to bring her team with her, she needed to alert them and tell them to be ready.

"John, what's your position?" Weir said into her headset.

"I'm in the gym with Teyla. We just finished a sparring match. Why? What's up?" Colonel John Sheppard replied breathlessly, sharing a puzzled look with the Athosian member of his team.

"I need to see you both in my office as soon as possible. Something has come up that needs to be discussed. Please bring McKay and Ronon with you."

"Will do. Sheppard out." Sheppard said, keying off his headset and turning to Teyla. "What the hell do you suppose that was about?"

"I do not know. Perhaps we should do as Dr. Weir has requested and we can find out." Teyla smiled as the two left the gym and went in search of their teammates.

* * *

Five minutes later, Sheppard and Teyla appeared in Weir's office with Ronon and Dr. Rodney McKay in tow. They were all curious to find out what was so important that they had to be summoned from what they were doing.

"Elizabeth, what's going on? Radek and I were working on the power systems when Sheppard came and pulled me away. I need to hurry and get back." McKay asked, looking slightly annoyed at the interruption.

"Well, Rodney, if you'll all have a seat, I'll try to explain." Weir began, waiting for the four to be seated before continuing. "As you know, the Daedalus arrived this morning with our scheduled drop of supplies from Earth. Only today, we got an unexpected delivery."

"What the hell is this?" Sheppard asked, taking the letter from Weir's hand as the other three leaned close to look over his shoulders.

"It looks like a letter, Sheppard." Ronon quipped.

"I know that, Ronon. I meant the meaning of it."

"Please. Let me explain." Weir interrupted. "Colonel Caldwell hand delivered this to me this morning. The contents of this letter are very mysterious."

"They sure are."

"There must be an explanation as to why the message is so cryptic." Teyla added.

"Okay. We've established that this is a letter and that it's very vague. The question is what are we going to do now?" Rodney interjected.

"That's why I've called you here. As you read, the letter says that I am to come to Earth to the address given on this slip of paper here and bring my front line team with me. I want the four of you to pack what you think you'll need for an extended visit to Earth. We're going through to get to the bottom of this mystery. Meet me in the control room in thirty minutes."

Back in the science lab, Rodney approached Dr. Radek Zelenka who was obviously agitated at having been left to work alone. He turned on McKay, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Rodney, where the hell have you been? I have had to finish the power distributions on my own. It was increasingly more difficult with one person."

"I'm sorry about that, Radek. Elizabeth wanted to see us immediately. I told her that I was in the middle of something when I was pulled away but it couldn't wait. Anyway, I just came to get my data pad and my laptop. Apparently we're going to Earth. I'm on my way to my quarters to throw some things together."

"Why are you going to Earth?" Zelenka asked, his earlier agitation replaced by a stronger curiosity.

"Some sort of mysterious letter that Elizabeth got in the supplies that got here this morning. Wants us to go and solve the mystery." Rodney explained.

"I would like to go with you. Mystery books are one of my hobbies and it would be interesting to see what you are talking about."

"Okay. Hang on." Rodney keyed his headset. "Elizabeth."

"Yes, Rodney."

"I'm here with Radek and he said he'd like to come with us to Earth. Apparently he likes mysteries."

"Well, one more can't hurt. Tell him to pack a bag and come to the control room with you." Weir replied.

"She said that..." Rodney began before realizing he was talking to Zelenka's back as he departed the room in a hurry. McKay just shook his head and headed for his own quarters.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the gate alarms at Stargate Command began blaring, signaling an off world activation. Walter Harriman punched up the IDC recognition screen on the console in from of him as General Landry came down the stairs from his office to see who was attempting to come through the Stargate.

"Do we have an IDC, Chief?" Landry asked.

"Yes, sir. It's Dr. Weir's IDC." Harriman responded, a little surprised.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have some visitors from Atlantis. Open the iris, Chief." Landry ordered as he left the control room to meet their arriving guests in the gate room.

A few moments later, the Stargate exploded to life and Elizabeth Weir materialized through the event horizon followed by several members of her expedition team. It struck Landry as a little strange that these people would return to Earth so soon after a mysterious letter had been delivered into their hands.

"Dr. Weir, welcome back to Earth. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"General, my team and I have a mystery to get to the bottom of. I'll get you up to speed if you'd like." Weir said professionally.

"Okay. Let's go to the briefing room."

Once the group were all seated around the briefing room table, Landry decided to get to the bottom of what had brought several of the Atlantis expedition here.

"So, what's this you're telling me about your team needing to solve a mystery, Doctor?"

"Well, General, the letter that you sent to me through Colonel Caldwell is the mystery. It is from someone who apparently knows who I am and knows about my expedition in the Pegasus Galaxy. I was given an address somewhere in Scotland and told to travel there with my front line team and the mystery contact would be there to give us all the answers. That's what the others are doing here with me." Weir explained, the excitement clear in her eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Dr. Weir? You could be placing yourself and your team in danger." Landry asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. If we're going to get to the bottom of this, this is the only way. Besides, I have a sense about these sorts of things that comes from years of bartering negotiations and it's telling me that we have nothing to worry about and there is no danger here"

"Very well. I'll have a staff car take the six of you to the airport and I'll call ahead and have an Air Force plane waiting for you on the tarmac to take you. You'll have everything that you need."

"Thank you, General." Weir smiled as she and her team were dismissed to prepare for their journey. 


	3. Flying Away

Chapter 3: Flying Away

An hour later, the team arrived at the airport in Colorado Springs and were escorted to the private plane that General Landry had arranged to take them on the first part of their journey. It didn't take them long to get settled in and ready for takeoff.

"This is really nice. Plus, with it being private we can talk freely and work on figuring this out on the way without having to worry about saying something that other people aren't supposed to hear." Sheppard commented casually.

"Yes, that is an advantage. It was very good of General Landry to set this up for us. He didn't have to do this." Weir said.

"Maybe a perk for being the leader of an expedition to another world where you have to live in constant danger of being attacked by the Wraith every day." Ronon quipped as Teyla smiled and simply shook her head. It was then that Weir noticed that Rodney was being uncharacteristically quiet and this concerned her.

"Is something wrong, Rodney?"

"Hmm. I'm sorry." McKay said, startled out of his thoughts by Weir's quiet words.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh. Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking. I can't pin it down right now but there's something about this that seems eerie and it's really bugging me."

"Mysteries are supposed to be eerie, Rodney. This is what makes them fun to solve." Radek spoke up from where he sat across from Rodney.

"I suppose so. I guess I'll feel more at ease when we find out what this is about." Rodney said as he pulled out his laptop and turned it on, effectively ending the conversation.

"How long of a journey do we have to get where we are going?" Teyla asked casually, trying to break the unease that had suddenly developed.

"Oh, well, we have to travel about 15 hours to get there so it looks like we're going to be bunking on this plane for tonight." Sheppard responded.

"Yes, and seeing that we have no idea what will be waiting for us when we arrive at our final destination, I suggest that we all try to get some rest." Weir suggested, settling into a comfortable position in the chair she was sitting in.

As they all got settled for the long flight ahead of them, Elizabeth couldn't help but think of how important these people were to her. She had always had a bond with all of them but since the tragic death of one of their own just six weeks ago, they had all depended on each other and their bond had gotten much closer. Even with the tighter bond she had with her team, Weir knew that she would gladly give it all up for the opportunity to go back and change the tragedy that had so deeply affected not only them but everyone in Atlantis as well.

Thirty minutes later, Elizabeth was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of something thumping to the floor. She looked up quickly and noticed that she and Ronon were they only ones left awake and the sound that had alarmed her was Radek's book hitting the floor, having slipped from his grasp while he slept. Smiling to herself, Weir crossed to where Radek sat and, locating some blankets in a cabinet nearby, picked one up and spread it over the sleeping scientist. Then she gently removed his slipping glasses, taking care not to awaken him, before picking the book up from the floor and placing both items in the bag at Zelenka's feet.

After she had done this, Elizabeth went over to sit on the opposite couch where Rodney had settled in. As she sat down she noticed that McKay had fallen asleep with the laptop resting on his legs, his lax fingers still resting lightly on the keyboard. Weir carefully slid the computer off of Rodney's lap and powered it down before setting it off to one side where it wouldn't get damaged. Once she had secured Rodney's equipment, she wrapped her arm around him and gently eased him down to rest his head on her lap.

"Ronon, could you hand me one of those blankets please."

"Sure" Ronon replied quietly, crossing the cabin to the cabinet she indicated.

"Here you go."

Nodding her thanks to Ronon, Elizabeth took the blanket and spread it lightly over Rodney. She knew that he hadn't been sleeping very much since Carson's death and when he did grab the occasional catnap he wasn't really resting that well, and it was obvious to her now that the inevitable exhaustion had finally caught up to him. Allowing herself a caring smile, Elizabeth gently brushed a hand across Rodney's forehead, watching as he stirred a bit before relaxing into her lap as though he were back in his quarters in Atlantis and sleeping in his own bed.

"Looks like he finally allowed himself to actually rest." Ronon commented casually, starting Elizabeth out of her thoughts.

"Yes. Although I don't think Rodney really had much of a choice in the matter. He's hardly slept since everything happened so he had to have been exhausted. Three or four hours of broken sleep a night is hardly enough to keep anyone going for very long. This was bound to happen sooner or later, I mean he was bound to crash."

"Yeah. I'm actually surprised he's kept going as long as he has. He's tougher than I give him credit for. He's misplacing the blame on himself for what happened. I've tried talking to him but he either changes the subject or shuts down all together. Maybe getting away from Atlantis for awhile and distracting himself with all this will help him come to terms with it."

"I hope so. It's really hard to see him like this. Ever since Carson was killed, Rodney's just been so lost. He seems to be a shadow of the overconfident scientist he was when we first came to Atlantis and during the first couple of years we spent there. Now it's like he's a broken man and I'd give anything to put him back together again. For the moment though, I think the most we can hope for is that Rodney can manage a full night's sleep without the nightmares that he keeps having. Maybe being surrounded by friends will serve to ease his troubled mind at least for a little while." Elizabeth said, glancing from Ronon to look on Rodney's face, her heart feeling slightly lighter as she saw the peace that spread across his sleeping features.

"Yeah, maybe. Look, you should try to get some rest too. Like you said, we don't really have an idea what we're going to be facing tomorrow when we finally get where we're headed. It won't serve any of us any good to be exhausted."

"That's a good point. I'll get some sleep in a few minutes. I think I'll sit up with Rodney for a little bit longer just to make sure that he's sleeping peacefully. That way I can rest easy. Good night, Ronon."

For a long moment, Elizabeth sat quietly watching as Rodney slumbered on in her lap, listening to the deep, steady rhythm of his breathing. She hoped with every fiber of herself that he was getting the temporary escape from his grief that he so desperately needed but that his heart and mind had been denying him these past several weeks.

"I wish I knew what I could do or say to take away your pain, Rodney. You're such an amazing man and it hurts me to see how much you're hurting. I know you've been affected by our loss more deeply that the rest of us but you're shouldering a heavy burden that you don't need to. You need to stop being so hard on yourself. Not everything that goes wrong in the universe is your responsibility. I just wish you'd realize that we're all here for you and let the people who love you take the burden off of you." Elizabeth whispered softly, though she knew she was only talking to herself. She then adjusted the blanket over Rodney and settled in to join the others in resting up for the unknown factors that awaited them in the coming day.


	4. Shocking Revelations

Chapter 4: Shocking Revelations

The next morning, the sunlight began to peek in under the shades pulled over the windows and shed a soft light on the floor of the cabin. It was to this gentle glow that Radek opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and when his vision failed to clear, it registered in his sleep hazed mind that he wasn't wearing his glasses. When he began to look for his glasses, he found them rather quickly lying in the top of his bag where Elizabeth had placed them the night before. Radek put his glasses on and the cabin instantly came into focus. As it did, Zelenka blinked rapidly in surprise at the first sight that greeted him. Rodney was sleeping soundly and his head was pillowed in Elizabeth's lap. He wasn't sure if he was more surprised that his friend was resting in Weir's lap or the fact that McKay was actually sleeping. Radek was perhaps more aware than anyone of Rodney's lack of sleep up to that point, since he had lost track of the number of times over the past six weeks he had been awakened in the middle of the night by one of his colleague's caffeine fueled theories or ideas.

"I wonder what that is all about. This is something that I will have to ask Elizabeth about later." Radek said to himself as he picked up his book and opened it to the last page he remembered reading before.

When Elizabeth woke an hour later she blinked slowly against the sunlight. She rubbed her eyes and stretched carefully, smiling as she glanced down and noticed that Rodney was still sleeping comfortably. When she looked up and saw Radek once again absorbed in his book, she greeted him with a smile as warm as the sun that danced off her shoulders.

"Good morning, Radek."

"Oh. Good morning." Radek said quickly, returning her smile.

"Did you sleep well?" Weir asked.

"Yes. This is very comfortable. Of course, reading usually helps me to relax and unwind. You?"

"I agree that we were given a comfortable way to travel. I slept better because I have a load off of my mind. I think this is the first full night's sleep Rodney's had in six weeks."

"I admit I was surprised when I woke up this morning and saw Rodney sleeping in your lap. He has been working through the night more than usual recently."

"I'm not sure if he even realizes that he's lying down. After I picked your book up off the floor last night I sat down over here and found him sound asleep with his hands still on the computer keys. I knew he wouldn't be comfortable sleeping sitting up so I settled him down in my lap. The poor man had to have been exhausted because he didn't so much as bat an eye the whole time. He seems so peaceful right now. I don't think I'll have the heart to wake him." Elizabeth smiled.

"Morning, folks." Sheppard yawned as he awoke, being careful not to more as Teyla was resting her head against his shoulder.

"Good morning, John." Weir greeted as Radek offered up a smile and a nod of his head before turning his attention back to the book in his hands.

"What in the world is this, now. Elizabeth, would you mind telling me what is going on?"

"Well, last night I was up late and noticed that Rodney had fallen asleep with his computer still on so I shut it down and settled him in my lap to make him comfortable. He must have been exhausted. I think we should let him sleep as long as possible. He really needs it."

"I'd say that sounds like a plan." Sheppard agreed, pulling a yo yo out of his pocket and performing string tricks with it.

* * *

Two hours later, Rodney slowly drifted to wakefulness to the murmur of quiet voices. When he awakened fully, he found it extremely odd that his computer was no longer on his lap where it had been when he'd drifted off. What he found all the more strange was the fact that he was suddenly lying down with a blanket covering him and he was resting his head in Elizabeth's lap. Furrowing his brow, Rodney found himself wondering exactly how long he had been sleeping since he had only intended to close his eyes for a few moments to give them a rest from looking at the computer screen.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Elizabeth smiled caringly down at him.

"Hey. I guess I must have dozed off for a few minutes. Where's my laptop? Hey, wait a minute? Morning?"

"Yes, it's morning, Rodney. You did more than doze off I'd say. You've been sound asleep for almost ten hours. Last night you fell asleep with your laptop still running on your lap and your hands on the keys so I took it and sat it with your stuff so it didn't fall on the floor and get damaged. Then I settled you on my lap and this morning I decided I wouldn't disturb you. I guess it worked. You looked like you were sleeping pretty well."

"Wow. I can't believe I've been out for ten hours. When I was working on my computer last night my vision started blurring so I decided to rest my eyes. I guess I must have faded out without knowing it. When I woke up this morning, at first I thought it was only a few minutes after I fell asleep."

"I guess that's what happens when you work yourself into the ground and shrug off important things like sleeping." Ronon commented, deciding that this was a good time to put his two cents into the discussion at hand.

"What are you talking about? I haven't been working any harder than I usually do." Rodney protested.

"Yes, Rodney, you have. You've been working through the night six nights a week and when you're not in your lab buried in some simulation or another, you're wandering aimlessly around the city like you're in a trance. One of my security personnel told me that he ran into you the other night and when he apologized to you, you looked right through him like he wasn't there and kept on going. You haven't been yourself in weeks." John argued.

"John and Ronon are right. You've been walking around in your own world lately and we're all concerned about you. Rodney, you really need to stop being so hard on yourself. I know you're going through a hard time, we all are, but you're bearing a heavy burden and you're not being fair to yourself. We're only looking out for you."

"I guess maybe I have been overdoing it a little lately but that's the only way I know how to cope. It's what I've done ever since I was a kid. Whenever I was hurting or things just got to be too much, I always threw myself hard into whatever I was working on at that particular point."

"I never realized that. But you really don't have to do that, Rodney. You have a lot of people who care about you and would be willing to drop anything if you need someone to talk to. All you ever need to do is say the word." John said quietly, giving his friend a small smile.

"I really appreciate it. I'll keep that in mind." Rodney said quietly. "So, how far are we from landing?"

"It won't be too much longer now. I think we're due to land in an hour or so." Elizabeth said, glancing at her watch.

The group talked quietly amongst themselves for the next hour, all the while pondering the uncertainty of what awaited them. The question that was ever present in Elizabeth's mind as the plane slowly descended and bounced lightly during its touchdown on the runway, was whether or not she had made the right decision in bringing them here after all.


	5. Path To The Truth

Chapter 5: Path to the Truth

When the plane had glided to a stop, the group gathered their bags and went down the stairs to the runway where a tram was waiting to take them to the terminal. Once there, they went to the transportation desk to find a way to get to their final destination.

"Excuse me, do you have a car and driver available that can transport six people?" Elizabeth asked the attendant.

"One moment, please." The man at the desk said politely. He keyed something into his computer and glanced at the readout on the screen before speaking again. "I certainly do, love. Just head right out those doors over there and wait. I'll send the driver around to you."

"Thank you very much."

"Were you able to get us a car?" John asked as Elizabeth came back and rejoined them.

"Yes. We need to go out this way and the driver is going to come around and meet us. We should be underway shortly."

* * *

Once they had loaded all of their luggage into the car and gotten settled, the driver took the address from Elizabeth and started off, saying that their destination was in an area that he was very familiar with and that he could have them there in an hour.

"I still have a real strange feeling about this whole thing. I can't help but think that there's something more to this than that letter said." Rodney said quietly.

"You think too much, Rodney." Ronon stated simply.

"Ronon!" Teyla admonished, slapping her Satedan friend lightly on the arm.

"What? He does tend to think to much."

"Okay, children. Break it up." John said, shaking his head at the two alien members of their group.

"Rodney is right about one thing. We don't have very much information about whatever situation we are walking into." Radek pointed out as he continued to gaze out the window at the hills rolling by as they traveled down the quiet roads.

"Well, whatever this letter leads to, we'll know before long." Elizabeth said as she clasped her hands in her lap to try to stop them trembling. The closer they got to the address that she had gotten with this mysterious letter, the more nervous she became.

As they continued to drive down the winding Scottish roads, Rodney stared absently out at the scenery as he tried to shake the feeling that something was very off. He thought that the uneasiness would settle a bit as they got closer but, rather, the closer the vehicle got to where they were headed, the more unsettled Rodney became. A few moments later, Teyla put a hand on Rodney's shoulder and it surprised both of them when he jumped at the contact.

"Rodney, what is bothering you?" Teyla asked quietly as McKay fought to get his rapid breathing under control before attempting to speak.

"To tell you the truth, Teyla, I think what's bothering me is that I can't figure out what's bothering me. I just have this growing sense of unease and I have no idea where it's coming from. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we have no idea what the hell we're walking into." Rodney said distantly, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration.

"Well, we're about to find out soon. The driver says that we should be there in about five minutes." Sheppard cut in. At this comment, the others all looked at each other and Rodney uttered a small groan and rested his head lightly on the back of Ronon's seat temporarily.

About five minutes later, the car pulled into the driveway of a quaint house and slowly eased to a stop. There was a sense of confusion among the passengers, coupled by a tension that was think enough to cut through with a knife.

"Where the hell are we?" Ronon asked flippantly.

"This is the address that's listed on this piece of paper that you gave me." Their driver answered quietly, the Scottish accent tearing at Rodney's heart.

"Well, here we are. Let's go inside and get to the bottom of this." Weir said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door.

"You guys go ahead. I'll get the bags from the car and be right behind you." Rodney said as Elizabeth tipped their driver and thanked him for his help.

"I will help you, Rodney." Radek volunteered, moving around to the back door of the vehicle to assist McKay.

Leaving McKay and Zelenka to finish unloading outside, the remaining four walked slowly up to the house. Elizabeth tried the door tentatively, surprised when the knob turned easily under her touch and it swung open quietly. They walked into the common area and were greeted by their mystery contact, standing at the window facing away from them. Upon hearing their arrival, the figure turned to face them.

When they saw who stood before them, the apprehension they felt quickly turned to shock. Teyla gasped loudly and grabbed Ronon's arm, leaning into his shoulder. John reached out in reflex and placed an arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and she swayed and her legs threatened to give out. For a long moment, no one said a word as the new arrivals were all too shocked by the revelation of their contact to speak. When Weir finally found her voice, she spoke only one word.

"Carson?"


	6. Emotional Reunion

Chapter 6: Emotional Reunion

The four members of the Atlantis team standing in the corridor couldn't hide their shock and skepticism as they found themselves face to face with Dr. Carson Beckett, whole and very much alive.

"This can't be happening." Sheppard thought to himself as he continued to support Elizabeth. His disbelief quickly dissipated as their friend spoke.

"Aye, it's me. There's a long story behind this." It was then that Rodney came in from outside and froze in his tracks at the site that stood before him, dropping the bags from his hands and blinking rapidly. He forgot that Radek was coming behind him until Zelenka plowed into his back.

"Rodney! What the hell are you doing? Pay attention to where you are going!" Radek snapped, setting his own load down in order to readjust his glasses.

Rodney couldn't find the words to answer the question so he just turned aside and pointed. Radek couldn't believe what he was seeing as he muttered something in his native language. Just then, the shock of seeing his friend who he believed was dead got to be too much for Rodney as his legs gave out from beneath him, his eyes rolling back in his head, and he collapsed in Radek's arms.

"McKay!" Sheppard cried as Ronon sprang forward and helped Zelenka lower Rodney to the floor.

As soon as Rodney had gone down, Carson hurried to his friend's side and was now checking his pulse rate, concern apparent in his eyes.

"Is he all right?" Elizabeth asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Aye, he is. Not to worry, Elizabeth. Rodney just fainted. He'll be fine when he comes to. Ronon, can you move him onto the couch please?" Beckett said reassuringly.

"Sure." Ronon nodded, kneeling down to lift Rodney's unconscious form into his strong arms and carried his friend across the room and laid him carefully on the couch.

* * *

Some time later, Rodney stirred slightly and his eyes fluttered open. When his vision cleared to reveal all of his friends standing around him, he sat up slowly. As he noticed Carson in front of him, he knitted his brow in confusion.

"I've got to be hallucinating." Rodney said weakly.

"No, you're not. There's a long story that I promise you later, but I'm really here. I'm alive, Rodney." Carson told him softly.

Letting this realization sink in, Rodney got to his feet slowly, accepting Ronon's support just as a precaution, and walked over to where Carson stood. He reached his hand out carefully, expecting to meet dead air, but his heart skipped a beat when he made solid contact with his friend's arm.

Unable to wrap his mind around the fact that his best friend was standing in front of him, Rodney put his head down and let all of his guilt and pain over Carson's apparent loss come pouring out and he cried. Carson immediately stepped forward and put his arms around Rodney, embracing him tightly to enforce his presence and to comfort his friend.

"This is just to good to believe. I've had several dreams about you being alive again but I never thought that it could happen." Rodney managed to say as he held on to Carson like a life line and continued to weep without apology.

"I know, Rodney. Believe me, I know. After this happened, it took me a while to wrap my own mind around it."

After several minutes, Rodney pulled back from Carson's embrace and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. It took a moment before anyone spoke as they were trying to take in the fact that they now stood in the midst of a scenario that they never dared hope for.

"Well, I'm sure you're all hungry. Why don't I fix us something to eat. It's getting late." Carson suggested, breaking the silence that was looming. He smiled in satisfaction when his friends all nodded in agreement.

As Carson moved around in the kitchen, getting things together to prepare something for himself and his friends, he was aware of the presence in the doorway as Rodney stood there watching him. It didn't bother him at all, in fact Beckett found it rather pleasant to have him there.

"Are you okay, Rodney?" Elizabeth whispered as she came to stand behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Yes, actually. Strange as it sounds, I'm fine. Better than I've been in weeks. My God, Elizabeth. How in the world is this even possible. I mean, we had a funeral for Carson. I helped carry his coffin back to Earth. I was there when he was buried. But here he is, standing in front of us as real as you or I. Obviously this is real but even with all of the knowledge I have in two different galaxies, I just don't see how." Rodney whispered.

"I know. We're all confused. Ronon even said that in all the years he was hiding from the Wraith, he's seen some pretty strange things but nothing like this."

Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting in the living room eating dinner together. It was obvious that they were waiting for Carson to answer the question that was foremost in their minds.

"How is this possible, Carson? Please tell us how this is possible. What is the long story to explain how you are here with us." Teyla said.

"Where do I start, love? The last thing I remembered was being in the infirmary back in Atlantis. I had saved that lad's life after I removed his tumor. When I unlocked the OR level and made the hand off of the box to the ordinance crew, I was heading back to the infirmary and I heard this big explosion, there was an intense heat and then everything went black." Carson began as Rodney closed his eyes tight and Elizabeth took his hand.

"Yes, we know that part, Carson. We were there. Sheppard retrieved your body from the hallway. That does not explain how you are here now." Radek said, unable to keep the shock from his voice.

"Well, the next thing I remembered was waking up not knowing where I was or how I got there. I tried to remember leaving Atlantis but it was just a blank. Then there was a small alien creature standing there beside me. Obviously, I was freaked out but then he said I had nothing to worry about and that I was safe."

"An Asgard?" Elizabeth said in disbelief.

"Aye, it was. He assured me that he meant me no harm and told me that I was aboard an Asgard ship. Next, he explained to me what happened to get me there. He said that they had transported me out of Atlantis after the explosion. They actually thought it was too late because I barely had a pulse at all but they were able to heal me with their technology. Even though the technology had repaired the damage, they were still concerned for my life. He told me that I had been in a coma for four weeks when I woke up. Of course, I asked them to take me back to Atlantis but their hyper drive had been damaged but they said we were in orbit around Earth so I decided to get them to beam me down here to Scotland where I could contact you."

"Wait a minute. Carson, I saw your body. You were burned almost beyond recognition. We put you in a coffin and carried you through the Stargate back to Earth." John blurted out, still trying to work the whole situation out.

"No, you didn't, lad. The coffin that you took back to Earth was empty. I was transported out of it." Carson said matter of factly, causing his friends to look at each other in surprise.

"I'm just glad you're alive, Carson. There's been a huge void around Atlantis that you wouldn't believe. Things just haven't been the same without you around." Rodney said, a sense of relief radiating from him like a heat wave.

"If no one minds my asking, where are we exactly?" Ronon voiced the question that had been on his mind since they had arrived.

"Oh. We're at my family's vacation home. I came here because I knew that I could keep to myself while I figured out my next move."

"What is your next move going to be, Carson?"

"I'd like to come back to Atlantis with you. I've missed everyone terribly. Having seen all that I've seen, there's not much of a challenge for me here. Besides, I'm anxious to see the looks on everyone's faces when they hear the story." Carson admitted.

"We can certainly work that out. You're going to be welcomed home with open arms. That I can guarantee you." Elizabeth said, reaching over Rodney to place a hand on Carson's arm.

* * *

After they finished dinner and Elizabeth and Teyla had insisted on cleaning up, the reunited friends were sitting in the living room watching something on the television and simply reveling in the opportunity to be together. Elizabeth sat quietly next to Rodney, her head resting against his shoulder, and noticed that he seemed more at ease than she's seen him in a long time. She was thinking about what it meant that Carson truly was alive and they had all been given a second chance. It warmed her heart because, in truth, she viewed her expedition team back in Atlantis, as well as the people surrounding her, as a family. When they thought Carson had been killed, it was like a part of the foundation, the soul of that family, had been torn away and now as she sat looking across at him, the Atlantis family was whole and would thrive again.

It was around 11:00 when Carson realized that it was time for him to help his friends settle in for the night. All of them were beginning to fade from their long trip. Carson had previously been dozing himself, the emotional day taking a toll. He stood up and stretched before speaking.

"I think I should show you where you'll be staying." Carson began as his tired companions rose to follow him. "Elizabeth, you and Teyla can stay in this room here. John, you and Ronon can bunk here across the hall and Rodney and Radek can stay in the room next door."

After they said goodnight, everyone went into their bedrooms and got ready to go to bed. As Carson went to his own room and changed, he reflected on the day. When he first returned to Earth after waking up on the Asgard vessel, he had doubts that he would ever see his friends again, yet fate had intervened and they were all back together like they should be. As he drifted off to sleep, the last thought Carson had was that he was happy to finally be going back to Atlantis. He was finally going home.


	7. Soft Words In The Night

Chapter 7: Soft Words in the Night

Once he had gotten settled, Rodney lay down on the bed feeling drained and completely exhausted. It was still hard for him to grasp the concept that one of the worst experiences of his life had actually turned out to have a positive result. He knew that Carson was indeed alive and well but for the life of him, he was just not able to fathom it. As he stretched out across the bed, however, Rodney's exhaustion beat out his confusion for supremacy, as he fell sound asleep as soon as his head made contact with the pillow.

- - - - -

Rodney was dreaming. In his dream, his subconscious seemed determined to play on his doubts and destroy his joy and relief at having been reunited with his best friend. He went back to the day Carson was lost.

He found himself back in one of the science labs back on Atlantis standing with a data pad in his hands explaining the situation to Radek, John and Ronon. Then he was on his radio trying to make a plea to Carson to stop operating on the man lying before him on the operating table and save himself which was akin to trying to move a brick wall with one's bare hands. After John had tried to talk him into leaving the man, Carson had gotten angry, locked down the OR level and turned off his radio.

While they were waiting for Carson to finish removing the explosive tumor from his patient, Rodney couldn't shut his mind off. He tried to block out the danger but all he could think about was ways that he could possibly get into that level and pull Beckett out of there.

It seemed like forever until the OR level was finally opened and the ordinance crew went in. Carson had insisted on meeting them halfway and as soon as he had radioed that he had made the hand off, the explosion ripped over the frequency, causing Rodney to jerk his headset out of his ear. As he and John rushed to the scene, Rodney could smell the burnt flesh and his stomach threatened to revolt right then and there.

As they got to the scene of the explosion, the hallway was in utter ruin. As they walked in, they saw the splattered remains of the ordinance officer. There was little left since he had been holding the container with the tumor inside when it had exploded. Then about five feet down the hall, they found Carson lying on his back, burned almost beyond recognition. When they approached, the two were surprised when Carson's hand came up and caught Rodney's wrist as they knelt beside him.

"Why?"

"Why, what?" Rodney asked quietly.

"Why did you kill me, Rodney?" Carson gasped as he took his final breath. As they lifted Beckett's charred remains onto a gurney, Rodney was haunted by his friend's final words to him and he let out an anguished cry, his pain and guilt echoing hollow in the gutted remains of the tower hallway.

- - - - -

Rodney bolted up in his bed, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he remembered where he was. He pinched the bridge of his nose momentarily and then sat there taking deep breaths trying to calm himself. He looked over at the other bed in the room as he heard Radek mumble something about reflux capacitors before he settled back into sleep.

Deciding that he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep that night and he didn't want to risk disturbing Radek, Rodney slipped out of bed and made his way into the living room, feeling in the dark with his arms to make sure that he didn't collide with any obstacles, and slipped quietly out the back door of the house. He sank wearily into one of the patio chairs and stared blankly out over the darkened landscape.

- - - - -

Upon hearing the back door opening and closing, Carson opened his eyes and gazed blearily into the dark. He sat up and was quiet for a long moment, listening for footsteps or any sign that someone had entered the house unwelcome. When he didn't hear anything, Carson decided that it would be a good idea to investigate who had gone outside in the middle of the night.

Making his way through the house, Carson walked slowly into the living room and looked around. Looking out the back door, he noticed Rodney sitting out on the back porch, apparently lost in thought. Carson slipped quietly out the back door to avoid scaring his friend and offered a sleepy smile when McKay turned to look on him.

"Are you all right, Rodney? What are you doing outside in the middle of the night?" Carson asked, sitting in the chair next to Rodney.

"I just had a nightmare, that's all. I couldn't get back to sleep and I didn't want to wake Radek so I came out here. Did I wake you?" Rodney asked.

"No, you didn't. I woke up when I heard the door opening. You said you had a nightmare? Do you wanna talk about it?"

"It was horrible. I've had several nightmares about what happened but for some reason, this was the worst one. I saw what went on that day except there was something different. In my dream, when John and I found you, you were still conscious and you grabbed my arm and asked me why I killed you before you died right in front of us." Rodney said, closing his eyes tight against the tears that were threatening to appear.

"My God. You've got to know that it was just a dream, Rodney. I'm alive." Carson began, placing a hand on McKay's arm for emphasis. "But even if I wasn't, you have to realize that I would never say anything like that to you."

"But what you said in my dream was right. What happened to you that day was my fault. If I had gone to the mainland with you instead of selfishly blowing you off the way that I did, then we both wouldn't have been in the city when that happened and we would have been okay. I am so sorry, Carson. You went through all that pain and hell because of me. Can you forgive me?"

"I would if there was anything to forgive but there isn't. Because what happened wasn't your fault. If we had gone to the mainland several other people would have died. What about all of the people who's lives I saved that afternoon? Rodney, if I hadn't been there Teyla wouldn't have survived. If I recall correctly, you tried to convince me to leave the OR. There's no way I could have ethically done that so if anyone is to blame for what's happened to me, then I accept it on myself."

"It was just so wrong of me to take your friendship for granted. When I said I would go fishing with you the next week, I just took for granted that we'd have a next week. After we thought you were gone, I started having that nightmare. I kept thinking that if I hadn't taken you for granted, you'd still have been around. There were so many things that I should have said to you and I never thought I'd get the chance. I mean, I had a dream the night that we came back from your funeral we thought and I was standing on one of the piers talking to you and I told you all the things I wanted to say but then I woke up and realized that I was only dreaming." Rodney said quietly.

"I have a suggestion, Rodney, if I may. We're both sitting here, I'm very much alive and corporeal as we've already established, so why don't you tell me now. At least this time, you'll know it wasn't just a dream." Carson urged, now curious about what Rodney wanted to say.

"Well, I told you that you are my very best friend. Then I apologized to you for letting you down and you said basically the same thing to me that you said now. That I wasn't to blame. The only difference being that in my dream, I didn't believe you. Now I do. With you sitting here, how could I not."

For a long moment, Carson and Rodney sat in silence, each pondering on events in their own way. Carson was suddenly brought out of his reverie by the sound of a quiet snore coming from beside him. He shook his head and smiled when he noticed Rodney sleeping in the chair, his head resting on his hand.

"I'll bet he has hardly slept properly in over a month if I know Rodney as well as I think I do. Luckily, he's had a heavy burden lifted off of him." Carson thought as he closed his eyes and let the sound of the wind lull him to sleep as well.

As the sun began to slowly rise on the horizon, casting a warm glow on the landscape, on the patio of a country house, Rodney McKay and Carson Beckett slept. In the silence of the dawn, the trees swaying with the breeze were the only witness to two friends' soft words in the night.


	8. Making Decisions

Chapter 8: Making Decisions

The next morning when she woke up, Elizabeth got dressed and went into the living room. She sat down on the couch and started reading the reports that she had brought with her, taking advantage of the early morning quiet.

Fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth looked up when she heard the sound of soft footsteps coming from the hallway. She glanced in that direction to see Radek come walking toward her with a sleepy smile.

"Good morning, Radek."

"Good morning, Elizabeth. Have you seen Rodney this morning?" Radek asked, a little confused and concerned when he saw Weir sitting in the living room alone.

"No. I haven't seen Rodney. I assumed that he was still sleeping." Weir replied, startled.

"He was gone when I woke up. When I saw you sitting in here I thought that he might be with you but obviously he is not."

Elizabeth immediately put her stack of reports on the coffee table and moved to look for Rodney. As she turned around, she caught a glimpse of something out the back door and tapped Radek on the arm, motioning for him to follow her. When Radek and Elizabeth stepped quietly out onto the back porch, they looked at each other in surprise and smiled when they found not only Rodney, but Carson as well, sleeping in the patio chairs.

"I wonder what they're doing out here." Radek pondered.

"I don't know. But I wish I had my camera out here." Elizabeth whispered, glancing out over the landscape for a moment. "Let's go back inside so we don't disturb them."

As the two went back in the house, they were greeted by the remaining three in their group. It didn't take them long to figure out that something, or rather someone, was missing.

"Where are McKay and Beckett? Aren't they up yet?" Ronon asked casually.

"Well, yes and no." Elizabeth said, suppressing a laugh at the confused looks on her friends' faces.

"Yes and no? What the hell does that mean?" John asked, screwing up his face in confusion.

"I am also confused by this. Why did you give Ronon two answers to his question?" Teyla agreed.

Saving Elizabeth from having to explain herself, Radek simply cleared his throat to draw their attention and pointed out the back door. When they caught a glimpse of what Radek was pointing at, they all smiled and Ronon laughed quietly.

"Are we going to leave them outside?" Teyla asked.

"I think it would be a good idea. It's a nice morning and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Besides, it'd be kind of rude to disturb them." John smiled, putting an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Well, it's past breakfast time and I, for one, am very hungry." Ronon stated matter of factly, causing the others to laugh.

"I can't say that I disagree with that statement. Teyla, what do you think about you and I going into the kitchen to see if Carson has anything that we can scare up for breakfast? You said that you wanted to learn how to cook, what better time than the present to start." Elizabeth suggested.

"I would love to learn some cooking. Thank you, Elizabeth." Teyla grinned as she followed Weir into the kitchen, leaving John, Ronon and Radek in the living room watching television.

- - - - -

In the kitchen, after finding ingredients to make omelettes and pancakes, Elizabeth decided to start with the pancakes to teach Teyla how to cook. Once she had located a couple of large mixing bowls, she started the lesson.

"Okay, Teyla, the first thing we need to do to make pancakes is to mix together 2 eggs and 2 cups of milk in this bowl. Then in the other bowl you mix together a cup of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of sugar. Then once you've done that, you take your dry ingredients and pour it into the bowl with the eggs and milk. Then you take a large spoon and mix all of it together until it's smooth and there are no lumps in it. Then you spoon it into the pan a little bit at a time and flip the pancakes every few minutes. That's how you make pancakes." Elizabeth explained.

Once they had finished making the pancakes, Teyla got a short, simple lesson in the art of filling and flipping omelettes, which was highly entertaining as Teyla flipped one too high and it landed on her head. After breakfast had been made, the women found some apple juice in the refrigerator and poured it into some glasses.

- - - - -

An hour later, Elizabeth came out of the kitchen with Teyla to rejoin their friends in the living room. After telling them that breakfast was ready, Elizabeth walked out the back door onto the porch to wake Carson and Rodney, who had yet to come back inside.

"Carson. You need to wake up and come inside. Teyla and I made some breakfast." Elizabeth whispered, resting a hand gently on Carson's shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, Elizabeth." Carson began sleepily, looking at his watch. "I guess I must have fallen asleep. I heard the door opening and it woke me up so I came out to investigate and found Rodney sitting out here."

"What in the world possessed Rodney to get up and come outside in the middle of the night?"

"That's what I asked him. He told me that he had a nightmare and when he couldn't get back to sleep he didn't want to disturb Radek so he got up and came outside. When I followed him out here he told me about it and we were able to have a talk that neither of us thought we'd ever get the chance to have."

As Carson stood up and stretched his back out, Elizabeth knelt next to the patio chair where Rodney was sleeping and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and shook his shoulder lightly.

"Rodney. You need to wake up and eat some breakfast now. You know how your sugar drops when you don't eat."

It took a minute of gentle prodding, but Rodney finally opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. When his vision focused, he looked up at Elizabeth and smiled.

"Hey. Did you say something about food?" Rodney asked, his mouth watering and his stomach growling at the thought of breakfast.

"Same old Rodney. Always thinking with your stomach." Carson joked as Rodney slapped him on the arm as he stood up.

- - - - -

As the seven friends were sitting around the table in Carson's kitchen having breakfast, they discussed what their next move should be.

"Okay. So we know that Carson is going to come back home to Atlantis with us, which is great, but the question is how are we going to get back to Stargate Command to have the Daedalus beam us up and once we get back to Atlantis, how do we handle this? I mean, no one else knows about this but us and it's going to be a major shock to everyone." John asked.

"As far as how we're going to get back to Stargate Command to meet the Daedalus, let me make a call to General Landry and see what he can do for us on that end. When it comes to how we'll handle our return to Atlantis, leave that to me. I have an idea." Elizabeth smiled.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back to Atlantis. Ever since I woke up on that Asgard ship, the only thing on my mind has been figuring out how to get back to Atlantis. Now that I'm actually going back, it seems a little bit surreal." Carson said, looking around the table at his friends.

"Understandable. I couldn't imagine being in your situation. No one can begin to guess what's probably going through your mind right now." Ronon sympathized.

"I am just glad that you are alive and coming back to Atlantis with us. Things have been difficult without you and I know that everyone will be very pleased to have you home." Teyla smiled, covering Carson's hand with her own, as Elizabeth excused herself to call Stargate Command about their transportation.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth returned to the table having reached General Landry. She couldn't help but grin at the eager expressions that greeted her as she reentered the room. They were all obviously as eager to bring Carson home as she was.

"Well, what did Landry have to say?" John asked.

"General Landry said that he told the Air Force pilot to hold his position for a few days just in case. He's going to notify them to fuel up the plane and have it ready. The plane will be waiting for us at the airport whenever we're ready. Now the only question is how we get back to the airport."

"Let me take care of that, love." Carson volunteered.

While the others were getting their things together to prepare for the trip back to Colorado, Carson when into his bedroom and made a phone call to a friend of his, the only person in the country outside of his family that knew he was still alive, and called in a favor. After being assured that his friend was on his way to the house, Carson packed up his own things and prepared to leave.

"Well, we have a ride to the airport. I have a friend that lives not far from here who knows I'm alive and he's on his way here to drive us out to there." Carson announced as he reappeared in the living room with his bags.

- - - - -

An hour later, they were at the airport, getting on board the US Air Force plane that would take them back to Colorado, their first stop on their journey home to Atlantis. On this trip, however, the mood was much lighter and there was lots of laughter and joking. They even had drinks from the mini bar to celebrate Carson coming back with them. They watched a movie together on Rodney's laptop and then they spent hours playing cards, just spending time together.

Seven hours later, John, Teyla, Ronon and Elizabeth were still playing cards, though they were beginning to grow tired. Rodney, Carson and Radek had dropped out of the game earlier to try to rest.

Elizabeth looked up from the cards in her hand at the end of her turn and smiled at the sight that met her weary eyes. Radek had settled in one of the chairs, Carson in the other, and Rodney was sprawled across one couch, all three were sound asleep. She nudged John lightly on the arm and pointed to their sleeping friends.

"Well, will you look at that. Seems like we've got a slumber party going here." John joked.

"I guess so. They just seem so peaceful, like there isn't a care in the galaxy for any of them. John, this is just the way it should be. Looking at the three of them sleeping like that, it seems as though none of that horrible nightmare ever happened." Elizabeth said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Hello. Card game here. Are you guys gonna play your hand or sit there and gawk all night?" Ronon laughed as he and Teyla waited for the card game to continue.

- - - - -

The next morning, the pilot buzzed back to the cabin to let them know that they were close to touching down at the airport in Colorado Springs. As they put blankets and things away and prepared for landing, a thought hit Sheppard that hadn't occurred to him before.

"Hey, Elizabeth. Did you let Landry know who we're bringing with us?" John asked suddenly, feeling a little foolish that this hadn't occurred to him before now.

"Actually, yes I did. General Landry was surprised but he said that with all the things he's seen in the short time he's been at Stargate Command, this is one of the more pleasant shocks that he's become accustomed to."

"Well, that's a relief. I certainly don't want to cause anyone to faint like before." Carson teased, putting an arm around Rodney's shoulders when he slugged him with a roll of his eyes.

"I think we are landing." Teyla said, glancing out the window as the ground rushed up from below to meet the landing gear and the plane glided slowly to a stop.

- - - - -

When they got off of the elevator at Level 28 of the Cheyenne Mountain complex that housed Stargate Command, Walter Harriman was standing there waiting for them to arrive.

"Welcome back. General Landry is waiting for you in the briefing room." Harriman said, leading them through the halls without giving a second thought to the fact that he was in the presence of a man who they had thought dead until the previous day.

"Dr. Weir, welcome back. I'm certain you had a pleasant trip." Landry began, turning to Carson. "Dr. Beckett, I'm glad to see you alive and well. You have no idea what effect your presumed demise had on these people."

"Thank you, sir. I'm just glad to be getting back to Atlantis where I belong." Carson smiled, shaking the General's hand.

"Are we ready to beam up?" John asked, eager to get going.

"Colonel Caldwell has the Daedalus in orbit and is waiting for my signal to bring you aboard."

"Can we beam aboard as soon as possible please?" Weir asked.

"Yes, of course." Landry said, walking into his office and picking up the phone. "Control room, can you hail the Daedalus and inform Colonel Caldwell that his passengers are ready to be beamed aboard?"

General Landry went back to the briefing room to see off the group from Atlantis. He wished them all a safe voyage back to Atlantis and stood back to watch as they were beamed to the Daedalus and vanished from the room in a streak of light.


	9. Returning Home

Chapter 9: Returning Home

Once they had arrived on board the Daedalus, they were greeted by Colonel Caldwell before being shown to quarters to put their things away and settle in for the ten day voyage.

After Teyla had put her things in the quarters she was standing at one of the windows, looking out at the stars streaking by as the ship traveled through hyperspace. She was thinking about everything that had happened over the past few days and it caused her to shiver.

"You okay?" Ronon asked, coming up behind Teyla and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I am fine. Do not worry, Ronon."

"Come on. What's on your mind? Tell me."

"It is nothing. I was thinking about Carson being alive. It still does not seem real. The thought that keeps coming into my mind was the feeling I got when I woke up in the infirmary and John told me that Carson was gone. He had told me that he would be with me when I woke up and when he was not there and I heard what had happened, I felt a great emptiness. It is a feeling that I have not had since my mother and father were taken by the Wraith. Now that Carson has been returned to us, I am not sure how to feel. I am happy that he is alive, but I do not want to feel that emptiness again." Teyla said, putting her head down.

"It's okay. That's all over now. I understand how you feel though. I had the exact same feeling back when the Wraith culled Sateda and I learned that my wife had been fed on. She could have left with me but she had patients in the hospital that she wouldn't leave and it caused her death. I never blamed her for staying, but I had the same feeling of emptiness in my heart that had once been occupied by someone who was very close to me. Then after what happened that Sunday, I felt it again. Of course, I pushed it down and buried it at the time because Rodney was so distraught and needed all the support that he could get, but a couple of days after we returned from Earth I went on a run around the city, but I stopped on one of the piers where Carson and I used to talk sometimes after the missions he went on with us. It was then that everything hit me, it completely overwhelmed me and I broke down. My defenses crumbled and I cried that day like I've never cried in years. So I do understand your fears, Teyla. But neither one of us are going to have to face that emptiness again. I won't let it happen." Ronon promised.

"Neither will I." Teyla mirrored the vow as Ronon pulled her into a strong embrace and she leaned into his strong arms as they looked out at the star streaks together.

- - - - -

After Elizabeth had settled in and spoken to Colonel Caldwell, she took a walk through the halls of the ship, trying to get her thoughts together. She eventually wound up in the ship's commissary where she saw Rodney sitting alone at one of the tables. She grabbed a cup of coffee and approached him quietly.

"Mind if I join you?"

"What? Oh, of course, yes. Have a seat, Elizabeth." Rodney said, sliding his data pad off to the side as she sat down.

"How are you doing?" Elizabeth asked softly.

"I'm great. Never better. Why?"

"I don't know. I just was wondering how you're doing with all of this. I mean, you were affected most when we thought Carson was gone and now that he's back, you must have a lot on your mind."

"Actually, it is hard to wrap my mind around. I mean, I saw Carson's body after that explosion. It seems impossible that he could be alive and resting in quarters just down the hall from us but it's real. It's something that I never dared hope for. The other night when Carson and I were sitting on the back porch talking, I told him all of those things that I regretted not telling him before and never thought I'd get the chance to. When I did, it was like a huge weight was lifted off of my heart. For the first time in what feels like forever, I actually feel peaceful. Like everything in the world is exactly as it should be."

"That's because it is. I can tell you're feeling better because you actually look peaceful and that gives me a great sense of peace and relief. I was really worried about you, Rodney. Before today, you seemed lost and it was like you were a shadow of your former self. But sitting here looking at you right now, I see the confident, slightly arrogant scientist that came through the gate from Earth almost four years ago and you'll never know how truly glad I am to see that person reflected back at me in your eyes." Elizabeth smiled as she took Rodney's hand in her own and squeezed it.

For the next several hours, Rodney and Elizabeth sat in the commissary of the Daedalus talking and simply enjoying each other's company. Elizabeth was glad to see Rodney slowly morphing back into the man that she had come to know and love. She didn't doubt that within a few days after they returned to Atlantis, he'd be back in the labs terrorizing the other scientists and bickering with Radek about any little insignificant thing and she allowed herself to admit that this was something that she was looking forward to. A return to the blessed, mundane normalcy that they thought was gone forever.

- - - - -

Nine days later, Elizabeth was standing on the bridge of the Daedalus as they entered the Pegasus Galaxy and came within range for her to communicate with Atlantis. She walked up to the communication officer and nodded respectfully.

"Would you open a channel to Atlantis for me please?"

"Yes, ma'am. Channel open, you're clear to transmit."

"Atlantis, this is Weir. Please respond." Elizabeth said and waited patiently for a response.

"Dr. Weir, it's good to hear from you."

"Thank you. Is Major Lorne close by?"

"Yes, ma'am. He's passing by right now." The sergeant replied as he flagged Lorne down as he walked by. A few moments later, the major's voice sounded over the comm channel.

"Dr. Weir? Did you find what you were looking for on Earth?"

"Yes, Major. I need you to do something for me so listen very carefully. We're about 30 minutes out from Atlantis so I want you to get on citywide and gather all personnel in the gate room. We're bringing something back with us that everyone is going to want to see." Weir instructed, trying successfully to keep the smirk out of her voice.

"Yes, ma'am." Lorne said as the down link was terminated. On his order, the tech sergeant patched through the citywide communications. "All personnel, this is Major Lorne. By order of Dr. Weir, meet in the gate room in 15 minutes. Repeat, all personnel report to the gate room in 15 minutes per Dr. Weir's order."

- - - - -

Fifteen minutes later, all of the personnel in Atlantis were assembled in the gate room. Everyone was obviously a little irritated at suddenly being pulled from whatever they were doing and a lot curious to see just what exactly was going on.

"What in the world do you think this is all about?" Dr. Keller asked Lorne, who was standing to her left.

"I have no idea. All Dr. Weir said was that she wanted everyone in the gate room." Lorne began and stopped as he heard something in his headset. "Whatever this is about, we'll find out in about 30 seconds."

No sooner had those words left Lorne's mouth than the transporter beam from the Daedalus flashed into the control room. When the light faded to reveal the team standing there with Carson alongside them, the room was filled with murmurs, random gasps and from somewhere in the room a scream resounded off the walls like a wildly ricocheting pinball.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" Elizabeth began and waited for the room to fall into silence before continuing. "I know this seems impossible but I can assure you that what you see before you is real and not a hallucination or a trick. Dr. Beckett is alive and well. There is a long story behind this that we will explain to you all at a later time, but for the moment, let's all welcome Carson home."

As everyone converged on them to greet Carson with a hug, a kiss on the cheek, a hand on his shoulder or a squeeze of his arm, he felt a sense of belonging and overwhelming peace that came with knowing that his personal nightmare was over and he was finally back on Atlantis. Dr. Carson Beckett had finally come home where he belonged.


End file.
